We decided early on to spend our time at Whitehallow well, which we managed… somewhat. Sabine had tried to teach me magic, but that had very quickly turned into a bit of a disaster as I consistently failed to cast even the most basic of offensive spells. Even despite her insistence that I wasn’t the absolute failure of a student I felt like I was, we ended up giving it a rest when I’d had my third panic attack, out of fear of being a burden and a drain on her. She told me several times that I was neither of those things, but some things I’d carried with me since my childhood, and it turned out that had been one of them.

My studies with Erza went a bit better. Despite Kazumi’s competence as a majordomo, and her role as a representative of the monstrous races, Erza was the only one who had really been trained to be a diplomat, and as such she knew things Kazumi didn’t. I picked up on a lot of it instinctively -- there was some overlap between strategy games and actual governance -- although some things eluded me. While, for example, the concept of delegation through Baronies, Counties and Duchies was, after some explanation, quite easy to pick up on, as well as the the idiocy of the old queen’s farming doctrines, I could not wrap my head around the concept of taxes, which to me just seemed like math but with feelings. There was a general agreement that the taxes were much too high and that the standing army was too big.

I wrote my first royal decrees after only two weeks of deliberation, where Sabine had to be reminded regularly that her opinion here was quite important, considering that it was not only the region she grew up in, but also that it was now, technically, hers. She took to it quite well, once her title of Countess had sunk in, and after we’d given up on magic lessons, she spent as much time with us as she did with messengers, learning about the state of Innshire. At first I’d wanted to be there, but Erza had advised against it. I needed to learn not to micromanage and trust my counts and countesses to bring me the information I needed. I wasn’t supposed to keep track of every proverbial grain field. Because of this, I also discovered that the queen’s… that my Kingdom consisted of some eight counties, of which Innshire was the biggest. It turned out that the only reason that Otto von Flammenwerfer had been present in my council had been because most of the queen’s military might had fought under his banner.

After his exile, he had apparently managed to gather a part of his old army, less than a twentieth of the men under his command when he’d joined the queen’s side. Erza assured me he was no threat to even the Queen’s Escort, let alone any real military force. Still, it made me uncomfortable to know he was out there, somewhere.

But the other counties had been notified. Most of them were governed by humans, originally assigned by the queen, which we quickly assigned different, more bureaucratic tasks. Kazumi suggested several of the greater -- and kinder -- minds from among the ranks of the inhuman races, people who had been leaders of their people, who would be well suited to ruling counties, especially under the newer, kinder decrees. We didn’t announce that the lowered taxes were orders from their queen, which we hoped would improve inter-species relations. It’s much harder to be scared of the large bull man when he tells you that you get a tax break. Governing was an arduous task, clearly. Completely refocusing a kingdom away from warfare was something else entirely, but I liked to think I did quite well.

Kazumi spent a lot of time talking to representatives from the various races, and I often saw emissaries of various species in her assigned office quarters. All of them wanted representation in government, and she would promise to try to enact small changes here or there, which she would then bring to me.

It was exhausting, and we spent a lot of time doing absolutely none of it. Without a Room of Relaxation, we’d had to make one of our own. When we’d told Erza about it, she’d burst out laughing, and then proceeded to help us set up a room in Whitehallow, where we set up low tables, cushions and a place to warm water. The room had an open balcony, and we often had afternoon tea there, looking out over Innshire, Shereton a blob on the landscape not entirely too far.

Every day, I tried to learn, tried to do what I could to become a better queen, but I found myself spending just as much time trying to just be a better friend to the others. I learned about them what I could. After all, I’d spent a lot of time pouring my heart out to them, and they knew a lot about me already. It felt only fair for me to know some things about them that would allow me to be there for them if they ever needed it.

An opportunity came just a few weeks before my scheduled visit with queen Anastasia. Kazumi told me she’d done some digging and found out it was Sabine’s birthday this month. I told her I’d like to have tea with her in our makeshift Relaxation Room that afternoon.

“Just you?” Sabine asked. She seemed a little surprised, but she smiled, and I worried briefly if she knew what we were up to.

I tried to sound nonchalant. “Sure.” I hoped she couldn’t tell I was excited to surprise her. I’d had a special cake made, and I wanted to give her a proper surprise party. Erza and Kazumi would be waiting for both of us in an hour, and I told Sabine I’d see her in that room around then.

After asking her to meet me there, I hurried over to get the rest set up. We wanted it to be a very relaxed affair, just the four of us, with cake, tea, cookies and some gifts. Nothing too fancy or loud.

There was a knock on the door. I opened it just a bit and saw Sabine’s face in the dim hallway.

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“Can I come in?” she asked me softly.

“Of course!” I swung the door open and as she walked in, Kazumi and Erza both waved.

“Surprise!” We were supposed to say in unison. Instead, we all said a variation of “Surprise,” “Happy Birthday,” and “Congratulations,” and Sabine stood there for a second, stunned. She was wearing her blue-and-green dress for special occasions and she looked absolutely stunning. Her marble skin looked amazing with the makeup she was wearing, and it briefly took my breath away. Kazumi obviously felt the same.

“Did… did you know?” I asked. Why did she get so dressed up if she hadn’t figured it out, right?

“I… Is this… a birthday party?” She looked amused, bemused and more than a little taken aback.

“Well… yes. Is that not okay?” I walked up to her, fearing I’d done something wrong. Perhaps celebrating birthdays wasn’t something that was done where she was from, or there were bad memories associated, but as I got closer, she smiled so warmly and so kindly it not only alleviated my fears but melted my whole entire heart while she was at it.

“Of course it’s okay, Liz. It’s perfect.”

We spent the next two hours sitting and talking, laughing and eating cake. It was absolutely delightful, and I hadn’t seen Sabine smile this much in, well, ever. She seemed to be genuinely happy to be surrounded by her friends. Erza was smiling with contentment, when she wasn’t shoving cupcakes into her mouth. Apparently she had a real taste for the things. At some point, Erza and I were gushing about the icing on a specific kind of cupcake, when I saw Kazumi and Sabine on the balcony together. Sabine took one of Kazumi’s hands and I saw her mouth a thank you. Kazumi said something, but I couldn’t see or read her lips. Sabine shot me a glance. I knew Kazumi would be too gracious to accept a thank you. I saw Sabine say something that looked like “of course.”

“They look so cute together,” I said, looking at the two of them, still holding hands, as they both turned to look at me, smiling, finally falling for each other no doubt.

Erza laughed next to me. “You are so…”

“Hmm?” I said.

“Nothing. You’re a good person, Liz. Never change.” She looked at me warmly and put a hand on my shoulder. Having her use the nickname Kazumi picked for me felt important, for some reason, and I smiled.

“Thank you, Erza. You are too.”

I turned back to look at Kazumi and Sabine, but they’d both rejoined us at the table. I hoped they’d get together soon. I cared about them both so much, and while, of course, I’d be a little envious of both of them, I couldn’t think of anyone better for them both. Perhaps Sabine wearing her romance-reward dress had been a serendipitous accident indeed.

Only a few days later, we got ready for the trip to Shereton, to meet Queen Anastasia. Kazumi and Sabine gave me all the information about her they had. Anastasia had become queen at a very young age when her parents had both died in an accident at sea, and she’d been surrounded by her father’s advisors ever since, who had governed in her stead until she reached adulthood. But even after that, a lot of ruling was done in her stead, and she was, as far as we could tell, largely sheltered from life outside the capitol. I wondered out loud if she even knew about the segregation that was going on in Wydonia. Erza assumed she wouldn’t. Beyond that, she was known as a just ruler, though a little absent and disconnected from the people. Though apparently her life had been saved by the Hero of Eferton -- which I remembered, but didn’t bring up -- and she considered him a close friend of hers.

As we made our way to the carriage, I saw the Queen’s Escort gather again, ready to head out, and I hoped, and was a little worried, about how imposing a gathering like that might be to any monarch that had to park their army across from an impressive display of monsters like that. It turned out that I’d had nothing to worry about. We only rode for a few hours before we got to the edge of a field, lit by the mid-morning sun, dew still drying off the grass, and we stopped. Across, almost a mile off, was a massive army, thousands strong, with glittering armor, shining in the sun. It was a beautiful sight, like pearls on a riverbank, made only a little worrying by the fact that most people in that army would probably love to get the chance to have a go at me, and that they seemed to outnumber us a hundred to one.

As we got out of the carriage, I looked to the others. Kazumi was holding a board with some papers on it, and a quill. It looked like a fancy clipboard.

“We agreed for the two of you to meet in the middle of this field,” she gestured. I could vaguely make out a table with two chairs underneath a large tent. “And both yourself and Queen Anastasia will only take one person to escort you, to ensure privacy and decency. If you make any attempts on her life, her troops will assault your kingdom and raze it to the ground.”

I nodded. We’d gone over this, but I felt Kazumi needed to repeat it, for her own sake. “Of course I choose you, Kazumi.” She nodded too. The first time I told her she’d fallen backwards off her pillow onto the one behind it in shock. She’d told me she couldn’t fight. I’d told her that I didn’t need a fighter, I needed someone who understood me in case things turned into a battle of wits with a monarch, someone whose counsel I valued, and someone with a better understanding of this world than most. Of course I’d picked her.

We made our way to the middle of the field, and I saw the white dress of Queen Anastasia exit her own carriage. Even from this distance it glittered in the sun, and I couldn’t wait to see it up close. I wondered how I looked, black dress with silver armour. Imposing? Stately? I ended up in front of the table, one chair to fit my size, one to fit hers, and waited for her to arrive. Kazumi took up her place beside me. Clearly, Morgana, when she’d set up this meeting location hadn’t considered the seconds as people worthy of seating.

Morgana Windrunner, Kazumi told me, wouldn’t be at the meeting, which did sadden me somewhat. She’d seemed to be a highly competent character before, and I hoped that I would see her again. Right now, she would be staying at the Capital, and relay back the court’s whispers -- vapid as they were -- and be a diplomat who thought she was a spy.

As the queen approached, I saw the figure walk next to her, sword on his hip, a gruff beard and a grim expression on his face that became clearer to me the closer he got. Next to the queen walked the Hero of Eferton. As they both entered the tent, they stopped on the other side of the table.

“Queen Anastasia.” I said with what I hoped was a courteous nod of respect. I wanted to open these talks with as much mutual goodwill as possible.

She returned the gesture. “Queen Eliza.”

I saw something twitch in the corner of the hero’s eye, and his grim expression turned into a grimace, which turned into a scowl of rage, as he drew his sword and used the table to leap up in a single movement, a bellow of pure hatred on his lips. Everything was happening at once. I heard Queen Anastasia scream the name “Daniel”. Kazumi just screamed. I couldn’t do anything but raise my arm as he brought his blade down with fury and all I could see was his eyes. His whole face was a mask of rage, but his eyes were red, panicked and crying. He looked absolutely terrified. Then the sword came down and everything stopped happening.